Spiritual Counseling

“Good Spiritual Advisors Show You Where to Look, Not What to See”

Ramana Maharshi

Nisargadatta

Neem Karoli Baba

Mahesh Yogi

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Alan Watts

How Do You Choose?

All over the world there are organizations, religions and cults teaching spirituality and all kinds of other metaphysical systems. How can a spiritual person tell the difference between a real and a false teacher or even a cult? Many people claim to be spiritual teachers, but not all are genuine.

Who is Qualified to Give Spiritual Advice?

What qualifications do you need to be a spiritual teacher? What is the training procedure? Unfortunately, in the West, we want everything quickly, and that includes knowledge.

Most teachers are “Self-Appointed”. There is no lineage or tradition. In the East, it takes many years for a student to become a teacher. In the West, anyone can become a teacher without much training or experience.

A true teacher is someone who doesn’t want material things. He or she is not egotistical. They are fully “Enlightened” and understand the true nature of reality. They can teach you about the different levels of consciousness because they have spent years on their own spiritual development and have great awareness.

Spiritual Counseling

In the West, there are many spiritual counselors. Here are some clues regarding spiritual advisors who are not genuine.

They have an inflated sense of their own self-importance.

They or their followers ask you for money.

They love being famous and actively seek many followers.

A guru who attracts people through his charisma and not his teachings.

Allow their hand to be kissed by students.

Trying to predict the future with vague statements like, “Something important is going to happen soon“.

They pay much attention to the way they dress and want you to think they are great by the way they dress. Most will dress in a “Mystical” way, implying they have, “Great secrets to reveal“.

Unhealthy relationships with their followers.

They want to control you. A real teacher wants you to feel in control of your life.

They claim to be an Avatar or prophet.

Above all, avoid the teacher who asks you to shout his name with praise and say he is the holiest of the holy ones. He is the most dangerous one.

A genuine teacher wants to enlighten you. They want you to be independent. They don’t want to rule you or control you. A true spiritual teacher works differently to the self-appointed, cult teacher. Genuine teachers tell you what to avoid as well as what to do. The real teacher wants you to develop naturally.

The Four Sins of Fake Teachers

A genuine spiritual teacher has no expectations from his disciples. He doesn’t want anything from them.

Real spiritual advisor’s don’t sell their knowledge. They share it.

Guru Dev had a sign which said, “Donations are not allowed. You can only sacrifice your sins here”!

1. Money and Material Possessions

When something has a profound effect on you, it may be the case that you become emotional and want to give financial support to your new teacher or organization. The teacher may then spend your money inappropriately without your knowledge or even tell you he is spending your money in God’s name. He travels in style and stays in the best hotels. Would a real teacher do this?

2. Power and Authority

Power can be positive or negative. There is a big difference between you mindlessly submitting to an authority and mindfully surrendering from a position of purpose and strength. Cult leaders don’t like honest feedback. You are not allowed to question their actions or decisions. Power hungry guru’s like to decree marriages and control lifestyles. That’s not spirituality, that’s a religious dictatorship.

3. Alcohol and Drugs

Some gurus have asked their students to drink alcohol or take drugs to achieve enlightenment! They say you should reveal all sides of your personality by taking alcohol or drugs. This is abuse.

4. Sex Guru’s

Sexual relations between a person in power and a person who is dependent on the powerful person is a betrayal. Unfortunately, there have been many reports over the years about sexual misconduct among spiritual teachers. Students are told that to achieve full enlightenment they must have sex with their master. This leads to mistrust, exploitation, and confusion.

Understanding Why We Fall for Fake Guru’s

Mistaking Charisma and Power for Wisdom

Don’t mistake personality, charisma, and power for wisdom. Many powerful people are not necessarily wise. Wisdom is often associated with simplicity and humility. Very ordinary people can be wise. A great teacher is compassionate and doesn’t wear his spiritual enlightenment as a badge of achievement.

Guru Worship

Some guru’s claim to have had visions which make them unique. They have achieved a mythical state. They pretend to have powerful spiritual energy. This makes the student focus more on the spiritual advisor than the teachings. The more elevated a guru is, the more isolated and out of touch he is.

Transference and Projection

Sometimes we unconsciously project or transfer the qualities of a person from our past onto people who are influential in our lives. If your teacher is genuine, he will understand this and inform you of it. But, if he is dishonest, he will have you believe that you are so impressed with him because of his spiritual energy. When a teacher has the adoration of many students, he may become deluded and start to believe he has special powers.

The Halo Effect

Just because a teacher is competent in spirituality does not mean he knows everything. Do not assume he knows about finances, marriage, relationships or anything else. Accept his knowledge but don’t worship him; after all, he is human. A spiritual teacher also makes mistakes, and if he admits this, he is genuine.

“A false teacher lets you believe he has magical powers. The true master appears very normal”.

I Would Like to Help You

I would like to save you a lot of time and money. I have spent my whole life studying spirituality, and this is what I have found;

Most gurus are more interested in themselves than in others.

Would true spiritual teachers ask you to take expensive courses to enlighten yourself? I don’t think so. So how do you choose who is real?

“If the student can’t learn, the teacher doesn’t exist”.

I have chosen the spiritual teachers at the top of this page as genuine for the following reasons;

They underwent extensive practice and training from a reputable lineage.

They were totally selfless.

They respected their students and didn’t take advantage of inadequacies.

There actions were in line with their words.

They were free of attachments.

They devoted their entire lives to helping others.

They never asked for money for themselves.

They never portrayed themselves as prophets or saviours.

They were honest and interested in giving, not taking.

They produced many good teachers.

They didn’t create dependency.

Spiritual Teachers

Legitimate spiritual teachers are interested in you.

Over the centuries there have been many spiritual advisors. I have been on a long spiritual journey. I have traveled to India, Tibet, and many other countries.

I have chosen the teachers above because after careful study and talking with other spiritual people; I feel they are genuine spiritual advisor’s.

What they gave while they were alive was special. Their wisdom now lives on for future generations.

“How can the sleeper arouse the sleeper”? Saadi Shirazi.

Why Are You Looking for a Guide?

Make sure you are seeking a teacher for the right reasons. Some seekers are looking for a Mother or Father figure. Even a lover. They see the teacher as a therapist. They lack something in their lives. Cults take advantage of this.

Some people are gullible. If a teacher is famous, study them carefully. Why are they popular? Is this just a fad or do they have something important to say?

Most of us need to heal. This requires inner work and self-reflection. It comes from a peaceful, relaxed state. We wish you well on your spiritual journey. Follow your heart. ♥

I have one question. I thought we parallel, what projects in our lives. That being the case, doesn’t even a false Guru or leader, have some truth to why they came into projection? Even truths of actions we may be displaying, still to be developed. Wouldn’t that still be a truthful lesson?

No teacher is perfect, knowing that is part of growing up. I look for several things. You should feel silence, bliss and love or an opening of the heart and the teachers face should look illuminated. Most of all you should see average people that have been around the teacher for some time begin to radiate the same qualities.

Weather the teacher can heal the sick or has powers is not important. Look at the teachers “Students!”

Raise your vibrations to a level where it superimposes with the vibration of the master, then the master will grab your hand. You don’t need to go looking. He will find you when you are ready, until then have faith and continue being patient.

I thought that a teacher was judged by the results. I’ve seen advisors with 20 years of experience that still didn’t go deeper then the 1 or two books they read on any 1 subject of “mastery”. A teacher should be able to relate to you, they should be able to break down processes in a practical way. If they hide behind large words and cryptic ideals, there’s a good chance they didnt break it down for themselves. – Sev

Hi, Everything that was mentioned above doesn’t make sense to me. They are all rehashed belief systems that you have learned from books and new age religious teachings. Please understand that all rules, all prerequisites and standards are beliefs that you have thought make sense. You cannot describe or put any reference point to anything to describe a teacher or anyone else.

All beliefs are false beliefs. Just stay with the fact that you don’t know anything, and then allow your innocence to make all the decisions in the moment. Even that statement has its beliefs. Let it all go. it’s all rehashed nonsense. I don’t know anything and it is my best friend. My other best friend, is death. Facing death and allowing my identification as the person writing this is all I have. This is where I am now. I am not saying this is for you. I don’t know and never will. This is just where I am. Thank you, Solomon

Thank you Solomon. Your comment really moved me, especially when you said allow your innocence to make the decisions. U.G. Krishnamurti also used to say “We know nothing”. A higher form of intelligence seems to come from this nothing. It seems switching off thoughts allows the inner-self to understand.

To increase your motivational power you need to hire a good spiritual advisor, not the fake one. If your spiritual advisor is skilled and has 2-3 years of experience in this field then he will be able to answer the question about the difference between a real and a false teacher.

I have just read the above guide and comments and after 30 years on the path of my own spiritual journey I have to say just how true this is – though it breaks my heart..! I did not choose this path by searching through books or groups but it came upon me spontaneously on 2/01/1985. I have since then been in fellowship with many groups and known many false teachers and so called prophets. Some are aware whilst others are deluded by the glamours they interpret as ‘God’. I have found many genuine people but sadly no genuine guru.. The answer lies within… know your-Self…

The Opinions on this website are only those of individual users. Nothing on this website should be taken as financial, medical or legal advice.

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